The Election Science Office Hours Podcast

Episode 19: Kim Wyman Jun 20, 2025

In this episode, Kim Wyman and I discuss threats to election security, what was done in the 2020 election to mitigate threats and what we should be doing to prepare to mitigate new threats looking ahead to the 2026 and 2028 elections.

Episode 18: Betsy Sinclair, AI and election governance Jun 18, 2025

In this episode of Election Science Office Hours I talk with Betsy Sinclair from WashU. Betsy and I chat about AI and election governance, election rumors, and a conference that we are planning for October at WashU. Betsy is one of the early election scientists, having written many studies about election administration and election science in the last two decades.

Episode 17: Gretchen Macht, how an engineer helps improve democracy May 21, 2025

In this episode of Election Science Office Hours, I talk with Professor Gretchen Macht of the University of Rhode Island. She is an engineer by training, and has developed an important and unique research agenda working to improve election administration. We talk about her work, how she engages with election officials, and how she is developing new networks for bring more engineers and STEM researchers into election science. It's a great episode, full of energy and enthusiasm!

Episode 16: Stephan Lewandowsky and the Microtargeting Manipulation Machine Apr 26, 2025

In this special episode of Election Science Office Hours, I talk with Stephan Lewandowsky, prof at the University of Bristol, about his innovative research on AI microtargeting. Stephan has shown that AI can be used to develop personally-targeted persuasive advertisements. This of course has important implications for upcoming elections worldwide and for democratic discourse. This talk and conversation was originally recorded January 17, 2025, as part of a conference hosted by Caltech.

Episode 15: Justin Levitt (LMU Law) on President Trump's election executive orders Apr 20, 2025

Join me as I talk with Justin Levitt, from LMU Law School, as we discuss President Trump's executive orders on elections, the legal wrangling now going on regarding those executive orders, and what we can expect to happen regarding these executive orders between now and the 2026 midterm elections.

Episode 14: Paul Gronke & Paul Manson. What do we know about local election officials? Mar 20, 2025

In this episode, originally recorded on March 12, 2025, I talk with Paul Gronke (Reed College) and Paul Manson (Portland State University) about their Elections & Voting Information Center and most importantly about their ongoing local election officials survey project. What do we know about local election officials? How do their like their jobs? How do you go about surveying local election officials? This is a great episode for anyone interested in election science and how elections are run in the US.

Episode 13: Jennifer Morrell, CEO & Co-Founder at The Elections Group Dec 23, 2024

This is the final episode of Election Science Office Hours for 2024! Here I talk with Jennifer Morrell, one of the world's leading experts on election auditing. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the past, present, and future of election auditing in the U.S. Make sure to listen, as Jennifer provides great insights about innovations in election auditing and also gives some great research tips for the election science geeks in the audience!

Episode 12: Tommy Gong, Deputy Clerk-Recorder of Contra Costa County Dec 12, 2024

In this episode I talk with Tommy Gong, Deputy Clerk-Recorder of Contra Costa County. We talk about how he and his colleagues worked to prevent the spread of election misinformation and rumors in 2024, the financing of election administration, and Tommy's "trifecta" of efforts to improve voter trust in elections.

Episode 11: Prospects for Election Reform after the 2024 Election Nov 21, 2024

Our second post-election episode, with Christian Grose (University of Southern California) and Andrew Sinclair (Claremont McKenna College). Election reforms like ranked choice voting, primary reforms, and redistricting commissions, were on the ballot in many states in the 2024 election. Many of these measures failed or struggled with voters. Why? What might these struggles portend for the future of election reform at the ballot box? How can election reformers respond? This is a great episode if you are interested in election reform. Note that there is a little feedback in the first few seconds of the audio, per our usual policy we have not edited the audio track to bring you the entire conversation, as it occurred.

Episode 10: Charles Stewart and the Post 2024 Election Recap Nov 06, 2024

Charles Stewart III from MIT joins me, on the morning after the November 5th 2024 election. We discuss his work on the CBS Decision Team, why the administration of the election went smoothly, what to expect from federal election reform, and some ideas for research coming out of the 2024 election.

Episode 9: How Do We Do Election Observation? Nov 04, 2024

Since 2000, we've developed a unique way to observe polling place and voting center operations. There are specific things we look for, and ways we go about conducting our studies of how effective in-person voting procedures and technologies operate in a state or county. Listen to this short episode to learn more!

Episode 8: A Conversation with Dean Logan, Registrar-Recorder, LA County Oct 29, 2024

This is an interesting in-depth conversation wth Dean Logan, LA County's Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. We talk about his job managing elections (and lots of other interesting processes) in the nation's largest and most diverse jurisdiction. We talk about early voting, election misinformation, and how LA County has built an accessible and secure voting system that works in this diverse community. With only a week until Election Day 2024, it was an honor to have Dean join me for this wonderful conversation.

Episode 7: 2024 Election Roundtable Oct 26, 2024

Guests in this episode are Lisa Bryant, Christian Grose, Dean Logan, Efren Perez, and Sara Sadhwani. This is a special episode of Office Hours. The Election Roundtable was recorded in-person (with an audience) on October 11 at Caltech. Prof. Mike moderated the conversation and we have a Q&A at the end with audience participants. This event was co-sponsored by the Caltech Linde Center for Science, Society, and Policy and the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy.

Episode 6: Dealing With Misinformation Oct 23, 2024

This is a special episode of Office Hours. Here I walk through some of the recent research we have done a Caltech on election misinformation, and provide guidelines and suggestions for election officials and stakeholders about how to deal with misinformation as we enter the final period of the 2024 election. This podcast is relevant for everyone, as we will all run into friends, colleagues, and family who are convinced by some election rumor or myth. See our project website for more information:

https://www.protectingtheelection.us/blog-3-1/election-misinformation-guidelines

Episode 0: Introduction to Office Hours! Oct 10, 2024

What is Office Hours? What's the goal of this podcast? Join me for a brief introduction to Office Hours, and learn a little about your host!

Episode 5: Election Technology Providers & Election Readiness Oct 07, 2024

Listen to this special episode of Office Hours! In this episode we talk with three election technology providers: Ben Adida (Executive Director of VotingWorks), Sara Cutter (Executive Director of the American Council for Election Technology), and Ed Smith (Vice President, Election Solutions of the MTX Group). We talk about how the election technology industry helps election officials as they prepare for the upcoming election and their concerns about potential issues this fall. Note that as our podcast is presented unedited, there are a few places where one of our guests had some technical issues, so please be patient with our unedited podcast!

Episode 4: Bob Page, Orange County CA Registrar of Voters Oct 01, 2024

Another great episode of Office Hours! Here we talk about the challenges of running a presidential election in a large and diverse SoCal county. Bob also talks about how they secure the voting by mail process, and dealing with election disinformation in this election.

Episode 3: Barb Byrum, Ingham County MI Clerk Oct 01, 2024

Join me for a wide-ranging conversation with Barb Byrum, the Ingham County (MI) Clerk. Barb is in the thick of the election in one of our most important battleground states. We talk about the challenges running an election in the current political environment and how she deals with election disinformation.

Episode 2: Natalie Adona, Nevada County CA Registrar of Voters Sep 16, 2024

Join us for a conversation with Natalie Adona, Nevada County CA Recorder/Registrar of Voters. We talk about how elections are run in Nevada County, Natalie's experiences in the 2020 presidential election, and issues that she is focusing on for 2024. We also talk about election misconceptions, including non-citizen voting, and how election officials can try to talk about those misconceptions with voters in their jurisdictions.

Episode 1: Neal Kelley, former Orange County, CA, Registrar of Voters Sep 15, 2024

During this inaugural episode, Professor Alvarez chats with retired Orange County, California Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley on his view of risks election administrators must contend with and what he sees as strategies for mitigating those risks for Election 2024.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Election Science Office Hours Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected